Christmas e-cards

This year we've sent out e-cards. A first for us, should be easier than trying to remember all the addresses and putting cards into envelopes and licking stamps onto it and sending it out, hoping that it makes it before the next year!!! ...WHeew





Doesn't it look cute..I think so!!!

The letter had the following:

"Hope to find everyone in a festive holday mood. It’s been quite a year for us.
Peter is sixteen months and Kara a little over 3 ½ years old. They have and are still running circles
around us! Both are climbing everything in sight in the house. Can’t count how may times the words “get
down” has been spoken, yelled and gasped throughout the day and night:<))
Both are growing by leaps and bounds every month.
Peter is learning to speak and will say "Hello!" and "Bye!" while waving his pudgy little hands,
enthusiastically. He loves to grab and run with whatever his sister is playing with:>))
Kara-little miss know it all, has an explanation for everything and loves bossing Peter around.
Marek is still climbing away. Both of us are just trying to survive and not pull out all of our hair!!
We all wish you a Merry Christmas and better things to come in the following New Year!!!"

Happy Holidays!!!

Peter- 15 month

Growing and growing.
Went to the well check up today- poor baby got two shots. I held my breath as you held your breath when the shot went into your little thigh, then you let out a loud wail and i exhaled.




You're at 50% height and finally back up to 20% weight at 22Lbs.
Such a little climbing monster- on everthing and everywhere! Can't believe how many gasping and heart skip I go throughout a day when I'm watching you. Of course all is done with a charming smile :>)



More teeth: I believe the back two front molars are coming out. I correspond the not wanting to eat with this!! When are you going to hold the sippy cup througout a milk session. Holding for two to three sips then you want the cup to be held for you- such a lazy prince.

Halloween oh oh

It's Hallowween time: Kara keeps asking when she can go treat-or-tricking. This year we went over to a friends house for dinner and treat-or-tricking. Kara was definitely up for the walking- actually she was running up to the houses!!
She dressed as Snow White.



She was able to eat 1-2 of the tons of candy she recieved :>)


Peter was barely able to fit into the Cow costume from last year- still adorable!

preschool Halowween

<
Kara at Blue kangaroo Haloween celebration. Miss princess!!






With Nathan Zak(right):




With cousing Kaylee:

Bishop-camping

The first camping trip to Bishop for Peter. 9-20-2008 to 9-21-2008
We went with my parents in the RV--yeah, we are roughing it!!
Took the kids to KEOUGH Hotspring pool- everybody loved it.


--



Marek and I even got to rock climb while the grandparents follow on the hike with the kids.
My first outdoor climbing since having Peter!!!

This is the family at the base of the climb.

Half Moon Bay camping

We went camping with my parents to Half Moon Bay over Labor day weekend. Ocean near San Francisco during this time of year was quite cool-weather wise.

The kids got to see their very first Ocean and got to play on the sandy beach.


--

--

--

Quite the sunset.
***

Peter- 1year old

--
WOW, WOW
Peter is one year old. Where did the time go.
He looks so adorable trying to walk. Like a wobbly robot :>)) His face just beams when he stood up by himself and starts to clap.



Unlike his sister at her one year, he attacked the birthday cake. First reaching for the lit candle then swiping the frosting with his feet :>0
It was quite the party, but of course he won't remember or care. His sister and cousins had fun each taking turn blowing out the birthday candles.

More teeth are coming in. Looks like the top two side teeth by the top front teeth.

peter growing

Because it just doesn't seem plausible that in one short month, we'll be celebrating Peter's first birthday and HOW IS IT POSSIBLE that a full year has (almost) passed??

I know that this first year goes by so fast and I have focused on savoring every developmental milestone - every grin - every belly laugh - every night when I pick him up and hold him in my arms, and feel his soft head on my shoulder - and breathe in his beautiful baby scent.
He is cruising around all of our furniture - and is standing for a few seconds, unassisted.

So, yeah ... my baby is growing up and that first chapter is about to come to a close. But wow, I am so glad to have him and this tale of love has far exceeded my wildest dreams.

You are especially smitten with me at the moment. Whenever I come in to the room, your face will erupt in to a huge smile and the look of adoration and love in your eyes melts my heart, every time. Rest assured my beautiful baby boy ... the feeling is mutual.

bouldering in gym

Kara seems to be a natural climber. We occasionly take her to the climbing gym. Sometimes she will boulder, climb with a harness and sometimes just run around.

Here is a video of her bouldering barefeet!..what grace..even in a dress!!!

peter is 11 month

The little pig is 11 months. It's hard to believe that only one more month and he will be a year old, just seem like I just gave birth to him.
He's a smiler. Always ready to give you a smile- charming to sly.
He is able to stand by himself for a few seconds than he plots his butt to the ground:>))
Trying to start the sippy cup. He will only drink about 1-3 ounces then he plays with it. Have to keep trying.

Kara still has issues with the food and gagging. She's not as bad as vommitting all the time, but the reflex is still there.

peter crawling in water

Picture 078
Originally uploaded by hajek

Fun at Donner

Over the weekend- July 20th we went to Donner. Kara got exposed to some outdoor climbing. She wasn't too thrilled with it. Maybe she'll be more comfortable with more exposure.

After that we went to the lake. The kids seem to enjoy the water.



Kara screamed bloody murder whenever an ant try to crawl on her :<0 Peter just crawled around merrily- sand or in water :>))
Overall it was a fun and tiring day. Peter zonked out as we hiked out of the park.

10 month old Peter

Peter just turned 10 months-

He is crawling very fast. He's been pulling himself up and cruising around the house and funiture. Nowadays you can't hold him for too long before he starts to squirm to get down and play- the little rascal. He's still taking a long time to drink his breastmilk because he won't sit still. He just wants to go play. I don't know when he will be able to drink a bottle at one sitting:>))

It's a struggle to get him to finish his 5oz of breastmilk unless he is very sleepy.
He seems to start to not need the third nap in the evening and taking a longer lunch nap.

Kara these days want to reason everything- why, why, why??? Definitely questioning everythin g that she is told to do.

Peter is finally crawling at 9 1/2 months-yeah. He's pretty strong- he can pull himself up to a standing position. He's still pretty slow at the bottle, maybe need to train him to the sippy cup??

He doesn't seem to like the plain baby yogurt. Boy the face grimace, turning head away, batting with the hands- wonder if those are sign of "what is this stuff? Get it away from me now!!!"

Kara is still chewing very, very, very slow. She really wants to make sure that what she is eating is chewed to mush before she swallows- what a nut!!! She is willing to eat meat that are not pureed- what at step!

hiking

MVI_0371
Originally uploaded by hajek

Hiking at Whites creek .

counting Kara

Enjoying a nice day in the backyard and counting away.

Peter listening intently.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/hajek/2557863664/in/set-72157605480625603/

peter-9M and Kara 3yr

Boy time flies!!!

Doctor's visit: Peter Vinh- 17lbs, 28 "
Kara Mai- 28lbs, 36"
Peter's length is the same as when Kara was 1 year old!

Peter is already 9 months with two front lower teeth showing and two front upper coming. Whenever he is teething, it takes forever for him to drink his bottle. No crawling yet! He can scoot around on his butt and push backward when on his tummy. He likes to stand up with support.

He must be going through a separation anxiety. Can't leave his sight. If he doesn't see someone or get held, boy does the water works and screaming begin.

Kara just turned 3!!! She was a late teether. Her first teeth didn't come in till she was about 13 months.
Still wearing a diaper at night. Where does all this liquid come from. She goes to potty before bedtime and I take her to potty before I turn in for the night and she STILL has a wet pull up in the morning!!! She can dress herself if the clothes are layed out correctly for her. Still very picky with the eating. She is getting better about not throwing up.

The Grandparents just got back from their trip. They went on an Alaskan Cruise. They are coming back earlier then we thought. Thought they would be gone for 2-3 more weeks. Must miss the grandchildren :>))

climbing away

Almost three years old and climbing like a pro at the gym. Kara is more like a monkey than a chicken :<)) Wonder if little brother will follow?

peter teething

Peter is 8 month and has one tooth protruding- bottom left front.
He has been pretty good except for drinking from the bottle. He seems pretty lazy at the sucking, but maybe it's because of the teething. Still not crawling, but he is jutting up his butt and pushing backward. He is mostly wearing 9 month clothings, while big "little" sister is wearing 24 months clothes.

4 more months of pumping breastmilk- can't wait!!!

One more month and big sister will be three years old. She is also teething- the very back left molar. This may take awhile to come out since it's one of the big tooth.

The night before she was up constantly because of a runny/stuffy nose- don't know if its caused from virus she caught or the teething. Mama didn't get much sleep either!!

chipped tooth

Kara chipped one of her front tooth somehow...don't know how. Took her to the dentist to get it checked out. The Dr. wasn't worry, said the chip was too shallow to cause any damage. Also said her teeth looked great- no cavities.

She wasn't to cooperative with the dentist, kept her mouth tightly shut:<) I had to hold her and tickle her until she opened her mouth...the little bugger. I'm little worry in that she doesn't have all her teeth in yet and she's almost three years old-2 1/2 month to go. The little chicken seems to need more assurance these days. She keeps saying that she loves me and asking if I love her. She keeps wanting to give and recieve hugs. Of course that's mostly with mommy and not daddy- that kind of makes daddy feel sad:>(( Who knows, maybe she'll switch sides when she gets older.

sick, sick

Everybody is sick in the family.
Grandpa- cold, Grandma- flu, Kara- flu, Peter- Flu, Mommy- flu, Daddy- tired.
Feels like this keeps coming and coming with no stop!!! Somebody is coughing or sneezing or stuffed nose or sleepy.
I'm ready for summer. Everytime the kids get sick their whine factor seems to triple!!

Peter woke up at 3:00 AM , 4:00AM, 5:00 AM.... He was so stuffed up :>(( Daddy walked and rocked the little guy until he went to sleep, but then he would just get up again half an hour later.
Gave him some breastmilk at 5:30 AM- Luckily that settled him so that he could sleep until 9:00AM.

Mommy a little tire here from being awake on and off since 3:00 AM !!!

Can't wait for this cold/Flu to be over with. This has wreaked havoc on the breastmilk production. Had to resort to using some of the frozen breastmilk cause the main line is coming up short. Hopefully when I'm fully recovered so will the breastmilk production.

loved ones

My complete family. Aren't they adorable!!

6 month- peter

Well Peter turned 6 month saturday-Yeah.

Went to get the little guy his shots today, he also got the flu shot. Three shots in all.
Not a Happy Camper- poor thing had tears rolling.
The little guy was a real trooper on the other check-ups.

Weight: 16 pound, 9 oz
Height: 26 inches

Doc said that put him in the 40th - 45th percentile. She gave us prescription for flouride drops. Guess we don't have enough flouride in our water.

He is rolling over from back to tummy pretty easily. I believe he has also said ma ma, and ba ba :>) Quite the talker our Peter is. He's also able to transfer what he is holding from one hand to the other. He also can sit by himself for a few seconds. So many developements for the little tyke!!!

He is such a little smiler.

Whiny sister

Boy is Kara in a funky phase. Very whiny.
Doesn't take much for her to throw a fit or start crying. 3 more months and she'll be three. Hopefully this phase will pass soon!!!

Maybe she feels there is less attention on her since Peter came on the scene, an throw these fits to get attention. Who knows- Toddlerhood.

Still in diapers at night, don't know when she'll be able to go diaper free.
It's funny, two nights ago she woke up, went to the bathroom all by herself and went back to bed. I noticed that the bathroom light was on, went to check it out and found a soiled diaper on the floor. Went in to check her in her room, she was asleep. Surely enough, checked to see if she still had her diaper- NOOO. Had to put a new diaper on her. Crazy girl :>) Next morning she had another soiled diaper.. Imagine the mess the bed would of have been if she didn't have the diaper :>((

She's asking to eat some of our food as she sees us eating: quite the progress. She still take a long time to chew and swallow the food. She still prefers to have thicken pudding consistency in her food and using a spoon to eat. Don't know when she will be eating regular food like hamberger and french fries, regular rice with sides, pizza- you know the all American diet!!!

roll over

The little pig did it!!! He rolled over from back to tummy last night!!!!

It took such effort. You can see the concentration on his face and see his legs kicking frantically to push over :>) So it took him 5 months and 1 week to roll. A little slower than his sister, who did it at 4 months.

The look of confusion on his face as he did it, then the big smile understanding that he did something.

Peter's nose

Poor Peter, He's still trying to get over the stuffy nose and little cough that his sister passed onto him. He's been a great trooper with the bulb-pulling out all that mucus in him. It's hard to believe how much comes out of that little nose!!

He doesn't seem to enjoy the spoons of solid fed to him. He stills like his bottle of breastmilk better. We've introduced him to peas and oatmeal so far.

Hopefully this will pass.

night waking

What is with Kara!!! The last three nights she has been waking up and crying wanting to go to the bathroom. It's not the potty that's getting me but the 1:00-2:00am wanting to go potty. She doesn't want dad to help but mommy!

Usually she sleeps like the dead and pees in her diaper. Even though she's potty trained during the day, she still wears a pull-up at nap and nighttime diaper at night. Maybe she's getting more aware during her sleep. Whatever it is, it's killing me for the disrupted sleep. Just when Peter is sleeping thru, now her!! What a cycle.

tummy time

IMG_0286
Originally uploaded by hajek

Peter looks like he loves tummy time- only for a minute or so then wah wah.
Isn't that the best smile- no teeth ma!

curious pig

My how times fly- Peter is already 4.5 months.

The little bugger- not so little(14 lbs 8oz, 25" long) is just rolling side to side, not from back to tummy. He seems fine just laying around :>) He's starting to sleep longer at night-keep my fingers crossed. Last night he slept from 9:30pm to 7:30 am WHOO HOO. The night before from 10:00pm to 6:30pm.

He looks at everything. He's starting to put stuff, anything, into his mouth. Well he really doesn't like the pacifier, but loves his fingers and hand-yummy.

climbing Kara

My smart little girl. She's only 2 1/2 and saying so much and so clearly. Here she is climbing away on the outside of the stair!!! Of course I only allow her to do this when an adult is there, but she tries to sneak some climbing in when there's nobody there! The little daredevil!